Camera supporting pedestal



June 3, 1941.

A. v. BEDFORD ETAL CAMERA SUPPORTING PEDESTAL Original Filed Nov. 5,1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS ALDA v. BEDFORD AND BY KNUT J. AGNUSSON7/ ATTbRNEY Patented June 3, 1941 CAMERA SUPPORTING PEDESTAL Alda V.Bedford, Collingswood, and Knut J. Magnusson, Merchantville, N. Jassignors to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of DelawareOriginal application November 5, 1936, Serial No.

109,390. Divided and this application September 30, 1937, Serial No.166,476

3 Claims.

The present invention is a division of our application Serial No.109,390 filed November 5, i936, and relates to television camerastructures and particularly to that portion of the camera which is knownin the art as a television camera dolly and which is used to carry orsupport the camera equipment by which the optical image is convertedinto electrical signals which at receiving points produce anelectro-optical representation of the subject at the transmission point.

Reference should be had to my co-pending applications Serial No. 166,477filed September 30, 1937; Serial No. 166,478 filed September 30, 1937;Serial No. 109,390 filed November 5, 1936, and Serial No. 109,391 filedNovember 5, 1936.

It has long been establishedfrom the motion picture industry that forthe purpose of changing from remote to close-up shots orvice versa orfor the purpose of tilting or changing from a low viewing point of thesubject to an elevated viewing point or for the purpose of obtainingpanoramic Views, it is desirable to provide ways and means by which thefilm taking equipment can be moved about from place to place in order toaccomplish these ends in a most suitable and convenient manner.

However, many reasons present themselves for making such known forms ofmotion picture apparatus not satisfactory or suitable for televisionpractice. Among the difiiculties which present themselves in televisionpractice are those which are due to the necessity of a great number ofelectric cables connected to the camera device. Also, apparatus of thisnature must be entirely free as well as shielded from both electricaland audible disturbances which would otherwise spoil or ruin theresultant picture and/or sound transmission. In addition, compactapparatus is desirable in order to lend more flexibility to developmenttrends since compactness of apparatus.

which includes all necessary control features permits full and completecontrol by a single operator.

The features of the camera equipment per so are described and claimed ina co-pending application filed by the present inventors on even dateherewith. In the co-pending application, the relationship between theView finding and focussing arrangements, the internal cabinetconstruction and the camera per se, and other related features, havebeen described and claimed. The present invention is, however, directedmore particularly to the manner by which the camera equipment may bemoved about from place to place and set and adjusted to such positionsas to provide for obtaining all desired types of views.

In general, the subject matter of the present invention is directed tothe apparatus and means for providing different elevations of thetelevision camera equipment. It is also concerned with suitablearrangements to provide for the taking of panoramic views and tilting ofthe taken View to different angles. The camera equipment itself is heavyand suitable ways and means are provided to compensate for the shiftingof the camera weight due to tilting. In motion picture practice, it hasbeen customary to provide a counterbalancing boom to balance the weightof the tilted camera but with television camera equipment which can becontrolled by a single operator such type construction is not desirable.Accordingly, this invention provides resilient or mechanical means tocompensate and equalize any shifting of the [camera weight with respectto the axis of support so that the camera shall at all times beperfectly balanced irrespective of its position of tilt.

Further, the present invention is so constituted as to provide ways andmeans by which thecam.- era equipment may be steered from one positionto another while still permitting the operator of the camera to watchcontinually the subject to be televised and at this time adjust thefocus of the light image upon the light sensitive image transmittingtube without being required to watch continually the actual direction inwhich the camera equipment is being propelled. This is accomplished byinterlocking the Wheels upon which the pedestal or dolly is moved and atthe same time arranging a steering lever so as to indicate the directionof travel.

In the event that it becomes necessary to turn the supporting pedestalor dolly in a circular path, suitable ways and means operating inconjunction with an elevating roller operable at the will of theoperator are provided.

The provision of the foregoing features are all included among theseveral other objects and advantages of the invention, but other objectsof course will become apparent and at once suggest themselves to thoseskilled in the art to which the invention is directed by reading thefollowing specification and claims in connection with the severalfigures of the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the pedestal as seen on a cutting planecontaining a major axis, and

Fig. 2 is a perspective view.

Fig. 3 shows the castor actuating and holding means.

The general shape of the pedestal may best be seen from the perspectiveshown in Fig. 2. In general, the pedestal is comprised of three Iradially extended arm members spaced 120 apart from each other and eachextending radially from a vertically positioned housing containing atubular shaped receptacle, the latter being used to accommodate theelevating telescoping mech-.

are preferably hollowed except at their extremity where the sprocketwheel is accommodated, the hollow feature being used in order to makethe arm form both a housing and support member for the apparatus foroperating the steering means and for the elevating means which supportsthe object to be accommodated by the pedestal. Joined to the uprighttubular receptacled member at the center of the pedestal is a tubulararm extending around in a substantially semi-circular fashion andagainst which an operator may push in order to move the pedestal on itswheels or rest in pulling the camera in order to make smoother theactual movement, the pedestal being of a type which is particularlyadaptable for the support of motion picture cameras, television cameras,etc., so that mobility plays an important part.

Referring to Fig. 1, the radial arm members lil are joined to an uprighthousing H which is tubularly hollowed at its center portion, fittinginto the tubular opening is a hollow first or outer tubular member 12and a second or inner hollow tubular member l3. The tubular members andreceptacle are in this particular case cylindrically shaped, but it willbe appreciated that their shape might be other than circular, such asrectangular, hexagonal, or the like. The two tubular members I2 and I3form the telescopic elevating mechanism for the plate 20 to which theobject to be supported by the pedestal is secured.

Spaced between the first and second tubular members l2 and I3respectively is a hollow tube shaped member It which is joined at oneextremity to a gear [5 and whose other extremity is'supported inposition between the two cylinders. This latter tubular member i4 isslotted, and inserted in the member is a keyed rod arm I6 which extendsupwardly past the extremity of the first tubular telescopic elevatingmember l2 where it is joined to a lever arm Ill. The gear I5 is placedin co-operative relationship to a driven gear l8 which is rigidlyconnected axially with one of the sprocket members I9. The sprocketmembers on each of the wheels are joined together by a sprocket chain29, and the gear arrangement i5, I8, the hollow slotted tube l4 and thekeyed rod arm I 6 and lever arm I! from the steering mechanism to guidethe pedestal during mobility.

The action of the steering mechanism of the exemplified form illustratedis as follows: It is highly desirable in a support structure fortelevision camera usage, which is a primary purpose of this invention,to limit the path of movement substantially only to a straight line pathin order to preclude the possibility of rotation of the camera away fromthe object to be televised while the actual transmission of imagesignals or televising is taking place. Again, it is desirable at timeswhen televising a shot to so arrange the apparatus as to make possibleobtaining a perspective or panorama view, herein called panning. Thiswould be particularly desirable for instance where a large group ofpeople were to form the subject of transmission, and naturally, in aclose-up shot all could not be within the field of view of the opticalsystem, and so to obtain a close-up of each small group or individualsthe television camera should be turned, or panned, to include thedesired portions of the large group.

By means of steering arrangement shown herein, the camera always facesthe same direction regardless of the direction in which the pedestal ismoved. The wheels i9, through an interlocking arrangement, aremaintained with their axes permanently parallel each to the other. Bythe arrangement illustrated, the sprocket chain which serves to controlthe turning of the wheel axis about a vertical axis, serves as aninterlocking member between the wheels. Upon turning the lever arm H,the keyed member [6 will turn the slotted tubular member M which isjoined at its extremity to the gear [5. This gear i5 will then turn thegear H; which causes the sprocket of one of the wheels to turn and, dueto the connecting sprocket chain between this wheel and each of theother wheels, the chain movement causes each wheel to turn justsufiiciently to keep their axes parallel to that of the turned wheel.Thus with a suitable initial parallel axes adjustment of the severalwheels, it is clear that the device can move only in a direction atright angles to the axes of these wheels. Since there is a chain linkconnecting the driving pinion or gear [5 with the driven pinion or gearto cause the various sprocket wheels fixedly mounted on the supportingspindle for each wheel axis to turn, it is clear that unless suitablemeans for adjusting the position or" one of the wheels relative to theother two is provided, the chain length as determined by the variouslinks could easily be such that a slight degree of slippage betweenvarious wheel elements might be present. Accordingly, suitable means isprovided by supporting the spindle carrying the yoke member to supportthe front wheel for sliding this yoke to a position where the chain isat all times kept tight. One suitable means for accomplishing thisresult is through the adjustment of the positioning screw to move thewheel yoke both forward and with a slight degree of rotation.

.It was above explained that there is a driving and driven pinion orsprocket wheel forming a part of the driving arrangement for moving thesprocket chain. It will be obvious that the use of the driven gear orsprocket-wheel is for the purpose of reversal of the direction ofrotation or movement of the driven chain. When this has been provided,the steering rod ll, if turned will indicate immediately the directiontoward which the pedestal member will move and, at the same time,maintain'the steering rod ll always in a position perpendicular to theaxes of the several wheels. With this arrangement, the operator of thetelevision camera equipment by setting the position of the steering redI! so that it points at the desired subject or part of the subject ofwhich it is desired to transmit at any instant the image when the cameraequipment itself is moved toward or away from that subject or part ofthe subject, the camera will move only along a straight path of travel.The

operators attention, therefore, can be directed solely to maintainingthe proper focusing of the subject on the mosaic electrode of thetransmitting tube and upon the optical viewing plane, as explained inthe co-pending application above noted.

It is desirable, of course, that some means be had to rotate thepedestal structure when desired, since the path of motion otherwisewould be restricted solely to straight line motion due to, theinterlocking of the wheels and the pedestal with its supported structurecould not conveniently be moved from place to place or faced indifferent directions without further adjustable features. For thispurpose, there is provided a castor member 2| which is normally kept ina retracted position by spring 22 so as to be out of contact with thesurface upon which the rollers l9 rest. The normally retracted castor 2|is supported by a bellcrank lever 23 pivoted to the frame at 23'. Joinedto the bellcrank lever for the purpose of turning it about the pivotpoint 23' is a cable member 24 which passes over a succession of pulleysso positioned that the cable will clear all apparatus contained in thepedestal base. The cable connects at the end remote from the connectionto the bellcrank lever 23 with a lever connected with a treadle memberor a foot pedal 25 carried in one of the radial arms of the base. joinedto the lever arm 26 which has its fulcrum at a point 21. Accordingly, itwill be seen that when the foot pedal 25 and lever arm 26 are presseddownwardly in a positioning slot 25 in the supporting base member, thecable 24 is retracted and the bellcrank arm 23 is turned about its pivotpoint. As the bellcrank arm and castor are greater in length from theirmounting position than the sprocket wheel 19 associated immediatelyadjacent thereto, the radial arm to which the castor is joined will beforced upwardly and the sprocket wheel 19 is taken out of contact withthe supporting surface. The freely rotating castor and rollers then formthe support for that radial arm. This castor member preferably islocated at the front of the pedestal, and on the side opposite that fromwhich the operator of the supported television camera device controlsthe operation. In motion picture and television work this forms animportant feature.

Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown a perspective view of the pedestalin a bold arrangement anda perspective of the camera which it is adaptedto support as a phantom arrangement in order to give a complete view ofthe entire arrangement.

Referring to Fig. 3 there is shown a view looking toward the pedestalfrom the back thereof at the foot pedal 25 which is used for actuatingthe castor member 2|. In this arrangement it will be seen that thepedestal frame is notched at the section 28 thereof at a position whichis adjacent the slot 25'. The action of this arrangement is as follows.When it is desired to force the castor member 2| downwardly so as toraise the wheel I9 immediately adjacent the castor, the operator maypress downwardly on This foot pedal is the foot pedal 25 which forcesthe arm 26 thereof joined to the foot pedal downwardly along the slot25' and the operator may, by pushing slightly to the right, force thearm below the top of the cutaway section 28 of the pedestal frame withthe result that the arm 26 is held in a retentiveposition, and hence thecastor member is held against the floor or other surface for as long aperiod of time as may be desired. Release may be accomplished by forcingthe foot pedal down slightly away .from the top of the section 28 of theframe and then applying a slight force directed toward the left, andthen releasing the foot pedal where it is forced upwardly in the slot25'.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mobile supporting pedestal structure for cameras, a pedestalframe, a plurality of wheel holders connected to said pedestal, saidwheel holds being rotatably mounted in said pedestal frame, a wheeloperatively connected to each of said holders, a sprocket member joinedto each of said wheel holders, a sprocket chain operatively associatedwith all of said wheel holders, a caster member normally retained inunsupported relationship with respect to said pedestal frame, and footactuated means for bringing the caster into a supporting relationshipwith respect to said pedestal frame whereby at least one of said wheelsis raised into an unsupporting position.

2. In a mobile supporting pedestal structure, a pedestal frame having aslot in the bottom extremity thereof, a plurality of wheels movablearound their own axis and turnable about the major axis of the pedestalfor normally supporting said pedestal, means for interlocking themovement of said wheels about the major axis of the supporting pedestal,a caster member normally retained in unsupporting relationship withrespect to said pedestal frame, a lever arm having a foot pedal mountedat one extremity thereof, and means actuated by said lever arm forbringing said caster into a supporting relationship with respect to saidpedestal frame, whereby at least one of said interlocked wheels israised into an unsupporting position.

3. In a mobile supporting pedestal structure, a pedestal frame memberhaving a slot in the lower extremity thereof, a plurality of interlockedsupporting wheels for supporting said frame member, a caster member, abell-crank lever connected to said caster, spring means for normallyretaining said caster in an unsupporting relationship with respect tosaid pedestal frame, a lever arm passing through the slot in saidpedestal frame and protruding outwardly therefrom, a mechanicalconnection between said lever arm and said bell-crank lever, a footpedal mounted substantially at the extremity of said lever arm wherebypressure on said foot pedal member brings the caster member into asupporting relationship with respect to the pedestal frame, and meansfor locking the lever arm into position when the caster member issupporting the pedestal frame.

ALDA V. BEDFORD.

KNUT J. MAGNUSSON.

